Published on 12, July, 2020
just wondering if anyone has self referred privately and after the initial face to face chat the psychologist says you make eye contact, you understand love and anger, you have friends and you completed school so it’s just anxiety and I wouldn’t recommend paying for the full assessment (in brief thats what I understood she meant!)
i get that autism and anxiety are closely linked but this just explained so much and now I feel totally lost again. We didn’t discuss any of my current struggles, she just asked questions on childhood through to teens and I had no answers for developmental stages as I didn't know.
i know the online aq tests are just a guide but is it possible just to have anxiety snd still score highly on these?
any help appreciated! Feeling lost.
I too went private but initially with a Psychiatrist who diagnosed me with Aspergers. I wrote about 8 pages of A4 abour my life, quirks and daily struggles. He clearly read this, because he was able to ask me pertinent questions. He recommended a full assessment and initially saw a Psychologist for a pre-assessment in order to decide whether i should have the full assessment. Luckly she did and after an observational assessment with another Psychologist and two 1.5hr interviews (one with my wife present) - I got the confirmation diagnosis. The Psychiatrist cost £300, pre-assessment £280 and the full assessment £1500.
I would write copious notes, include any odd stories that stick in your mind and they'll have more to work with. Thr eye contact thing is a bit of a myth. Although i find that when i explain stuff I always look away anyway.
I wrote my copious notes in excel, I think that increased my aspie score :-D
Only teasing. I did do it in excel and I wrote down additional notes during the assessment. I had a long conversation with her shoes and got familiar with the woodgrain in the parquet flooring tiles. But there are other traits I don't particularly have, e.g i was an early talker and had good language development.
I went through a similar process as @JohnS and @plastic (Hey mods, the @ thing is timing out today!!) except i started with an assessment for PDA, which was quickly upgraded it to a diagnosis of Aspergers which i really didn't expect. Afterwards I've discovered all the issues about females with Autism and high levels of masking and it clicked into place. If i had just had the one session I probably would have masked all the way through it . As it was the second session with the same assessor, my guard dropped, my masking dropped and she saw a lot more of the real me. @Alwaysconfused do you think you masked a lot during the assessment?
Thanks John, i paid £330 and it was with a clinical psychologist to assess whether a full assessment would be necessary. I took 4 pages of A4 notes with me and didnt even give them to her or refer to them as she focused on my family, childhood. Basically felt like because i function adequately I cant be autistic
JohnS said:Thr eye contact thing is a bit of a myth.
Yes - I can force myself to stare at the bridge of their nose and fake the eye-contact but it's incredibly difficult - it feels uncomfortable and i don't like doing it. I know in some ASD measurement places it is being judged so I relax and don't do it - the floor is so much more interesting.